Charles P. Taft speaks at a meeting of the United Community Services. Robert Fletcher is seated at left. "Taft was the son of President Taft & the Taft political empire in Cincinnati," said Richard McCoy of Huntington. "Yale graduate, Skull & Bones (a secret society), a child from a powerful, rich and privileged family, he was an attorney and politician. In the mid-20th Century, Cincinnati was an icon for cities. President Taft was a Republican, so was Charles P. Taft and Robert Fletcher. Under Taft's tour as mayor, the city of Cincinnati had switched from Mayor-Council form of government to City Manager-Council form of government. Taft had won national acclaim for his leadership in moving from the political realm to this new/efficient/professional way to run a city 'like a business.' Not wanting Huntington to be left behind, Fletcher and several other true-believers pushed hard for reform. About 1958, they succeeded, and Huntington voted in the charter. Before long, an experienced City Manager (two years in Sioux City) was at the helm, named Robert Hoisington. The success of the change to a City Manager will have to defend itself. Robert Fletcher defended it to the end."

Gallery: Do you remember? -- Jan. 23, 2012

Jan. 23, 2012 @ 12:45 PM

We have a treasure trove of old negatives and photos at The Herald-Dispatch. Some of the images, we know. Others, we have no idea.

We are scanning the negatives and photos and running some of the photos in the newspaper.

These photos were from a box of 4x5 negatives. The box is marked 1961.

Browse through the gallery. If you can add caption information to any of the photos (or correct a caption we already have), e-mail online editor Andrea Copley-Smith at acopley@herald-dispatch.com or call 304-526-2764. Be sure to include the title of the gallery, details of the photo, your name and phone number.